CPW Walking Pilgrimage 2025 at Ministeracres

CPW Walking Pilgrimage 2025 at Ministeracres

This year’s walking pilgrimage was based at Ministeracres Retreat Centre, which is run by the Passionist Fathers. It is set in large grounds and the buildings are approached via a long drive lined by mature sequoia trees, which set the tone for one of the themes of the event, the beauty of creation and our need to care for it. The other main theme was the history of the Church in the north of England in pre Norman conquest times, told through the lives of the northern saints.

The evening of our arrival was relaxed, with a good meal, introductions and socialising, with, as every evening, Night Prayer in the chapel with the singing of “Now is the Cool of the Day”, a hymn about God’s Garden, admirably led by Brid (organiser) and friends.

Friday 26th September 2025 We were driven to the start of the walk a few miles from base. After a poem by John O’Donohue, called ‘For the Traveller’, read before every walk, we set out, in silence for the first 30 minutes, as is usual in CPW pilgrimages. This time of silence enables people to listen and really hear the sounds of nature, as well as our own inner voices and to pray as we walk. Once the silence was broken, people talked about how they had noticed the sound of the river, birdsong, the breaking of twigs as our feet progressed over the ground. We travelled alongside a fast flowing river, through woodland and over moorland; the group seemed to take on a flowing momentum of its own as pairs and small groups formed and reformed, so that one’s fellow pilgrims differed as we progressed. In this way, we were able to both catch up with news from people we had previously met, often many years ago, and to get to know others who had been strangers to us until yesterday. At just after halfway, a clearing was found off the main path, and mass was celebrated, as usual for CPW, in an unorthodox setting and some alternative prayers, mainly on the theme of God’s creation.

Our walk took us to the village of Blanchland, 8.5 miles from the start, where a lovely tea room awaited us. The village itself boasts several historical buildings including the church, built on the site of an abbey which was the home of French monks who wore white robes, hence the name of the village. We were grateful that our return journey was in the vehicles.

The day finished with an interesting and amusing talk on Pilgrimage by the CPW Chaplain, Father Tim Redmond, who has walked many hundreds of miles on pilgrimage.

Saturday 27th September 2025 Again we travelled in vehicles a few miles to the site of an ancient monastery, St. Paul’s at Jarrow, where St. Bede spent all his adult life, writing his many books, including his famous ‘Ecclesiastical History of the English People’, and where he died.  Returning to the vehicles, we drove to  Cleadon Windmill, the start of our walk. This was mainly through farmland and urban areas. We stopped at Roker, visiting an early 19th century arts and crafts church, St. Andrew’s, which has a Burne Jones tapestry, painted ceiling and impressive stained glass windows. We ate lunch in sunshine outside the church. Walking via Seaburn and along the coast we reached our final destination, some 6 or 7 miles from the start, the site of St. Peter’s Monastery, where mass was celebrated in an area which would have been within the walls of the monastery.

In the evening we had another interesting illustrated talk, this being about the history of the northern saints, including Saints Bede, Aidan, Cuthbert, Hilda, Oswald et al and the times in which they lived, given by Dr Greg Ryan., from the Centre for Catholic Studies at Durham University.

Sunday 28th September 2025  After a longer drive to the coast, we set out to walk across the causeway to Lindisfarne (Holy Island) in the steps of thousands of other pilgrims, including St. Aidan, who founded the monastery on the island. Walking through the sand, shallow water and, sometimes, mud, for about 3 miles, initially in silence, was an experience it is difficult to describe, as the sun shone from a clear sky and worldliness seemed unimportant when faced with the beauty of creation. The last mass of the weekend was celebrated next to the Priory, close to the ruins of the church, and again, it was special.

Returning in vehicles to the mainland, we were driven to Durham for a meal in a Turkish restaurant, after which we visited Durham Cathedral for a guided tour by a very knowledgeable local lady who clear loved her “dear Bede and dear Cuthbert”, whose bodies reside there.

Saying goodbye the next day, many people were already looking forward to CPW Walking Pilgrimage 2026.

Many thanks go to Brid Fitzpatrick (organiser), Father Tim Redmond (chaplain), Martino Uragallo (driver) and the staff and volunteers of Ministeracres as well as my fellow pilgrims.

A quote from Mary Oliver, used during the pilgrimage     -    

Pay attention   
Be astonished
Tell about it